Raging Fires Force Evacuations In Southern California

Two more southern California fires sprung up on Monday, burning over 5,000 acres in the San Gabriel Mountains by Tuesday morning and raising the total number of firefighters battling the state’s six active wildfires to over 4,700.

As of Tuesday, the Los Angeles area’s Fish Fire had reached 3,000 acres burned, and the Reservoir Fire had burned 2,400 acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Each were listed at 0 percent containment.

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234 personnel are attending to the Reservoir Fire, which is located in the San Gabriel Canyon near Morris Dam. Authorities noted: “San Gabriel Canyon is being evacuated. HWY 39 is closed. The community of Mountain Cove, Camp Williams, and Glendora Mountain Road are under a mandatory evacuation.”

The other fire, Azusa’s Reservoir Fire started with a fatal car crash near Morris Reservoir, said Deputy Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department John Tripp, according to the Los Angeles Times.

On Monday night ,the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) was assisting those evacuating due to the Fish Fire in Duarte. At least 600 homes had been affected by the fire as of Monday night.

As of Tuesday morning, reports for the Fish and Reservoir Fires were consolidated under the incident name “San Gabriel Complex” on InciWeb updates from the U.S. Forest Service. KPCC public radio reported that the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory, warning for potentially unhealthy air quality in several areas related to these two fires.

Elsewhere, the Border 3 fire in the San Diego County area had burned 7,500 acres as of Tuesday morning, with 5 percent containment. The USDA Fire Service lists an expected containment date of June 26.

Santa Barbara County’s Sherpa Fire was 70 percent contained, with almost 8,000 acres burned as of mid-morning on Tuesday, according to Cal Fire. Expected containment is listed as June 23. The fire has damaged large areas of crops in the area.

The Camanche Fire in Amador County, at 210 acres, was 95 percent contained as of the last Cal Fire update on Sunday. Siskiyou County’s Pony Fire, at almost 3,000 acres, was 60 percent contained as of Tuesday morning.

Last Friday, top officials joined Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby to warn of volatile fire behavior in the coming Summer months. “If the recent fire in the Calabasas area is an indication of the upcoming fire season, then it’s critical (for homeowners) to clear brush away from their homes,” said Osby.

Riverside Fire Department Chief Michael Moore warned: “We have seen a big change in brush growth. It is higher than previous years … and this could be one of the worst (fire) seasons ever.”